1 Samuel 30:15–26

¹⁵ “Will you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. And the man replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you to them.” ¹⁶ So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. ¹⁷ And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels. ¹⁸ So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing, young or old, son or daughter, or any of the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back. ²⁰ And he recovered all the flocks and herds, which his men drove ahead of the other livestock, calling out, “This is David’s plunder!” ²¹ When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him from the Brook of Besor, they came out to meet him and the troops with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them, ²² but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.” ²³ But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us. ²⁴ Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.” ²⁵ And so it has been from that day forward. David established this statute as an ordinance for Israel to this very day. ²⁶ When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.”